Sauna systems throughout history have employed various methods of heating a space to provide the therapeutic and cleansing effects of heat. As is well known, heat causes the human body to perspire and can also provide soothing and therapeutic effects to muscles and joints. Known systems for heating a sauna have included using open fires, enclosed stoves, and steam generators among others. While these systems have had varying degrees of effectiveness, each has further been found to present drawbacks. For example, systems using open fires, while providing direct open-flame heating, have been found to result in smoke-filled sauna rooms. Additionally, the heat created from such open fires is often short lived. On the other hand, wood stoves have been found to enable a more controlled heat over a greater period of time, but also shield the heat due to the enclosed nature of the stoves.
Electrically energized heaters, including electrically-resistive heaters and energized radiant heaters, have also been developed and have gained popularity for their use in saunas. Some radiant heat systems are known to employ infrared heating panels to generate electromagnetic radiation within the infrared spectrum. When absorbed by the body of a sauna user, the infrared radiation excites the molecules within the body to generate warming. Whereas steam or warm air generally only heat the skin and tissue directly beneath by conduction, infrared radiation more deeply penetrates the body (e.g., to about 1.5 inches) to more effectively and comfortably warm the body to a sweating temperature without the use of a conductive medium.